Growing Pains
by Gamemakers
Summary: Flowers cannot bring together what society forces apart. For Haymitch and Maysilee, the realities of life in District Twelve are far too readily apparent.
1. Chapter 1

She pretends not to notice him when he pulls her golden hair on the playground. Why should she? Maysilee is smart and well-behaved, everything he isn't. She always sits in the front row and raises her hand when the teacher asks a question and has perfect penmanship. He tries to escape attention by claiming the spot furthest from Ms. Laderny and spends class carving jagged-looking curses into the desk. Ms. Laderney notices their differences and treats them accordingly: Maysilee is the student she praises; Haymitch is the child she makes an example of.

He supposes her indifference is to be expected. She's a beautiful Town girl and he's a dirty Seam boy. At the ripe old age of seven, he knows she's too good for him. He'll never convince her otherwise.

But Haymitch never claimed to be a wise man, and even the certainty of failure isn't enough to stop him from trying. He chases after her at recess and pulls her hair in line, but she doesn't even allow him the satisfaction of seeing her run away or become angry. Instead, she ignores him. Ever the brilliant tactician, he changes strategies. He picks flowers in the Meadow each morning and gives them to her. Maysilee smiles and thanks him, but he always sees them in the trash by noon. The other boys tease him, and he despairs. Haymitch will never be anything more to her than an obnoxious boy covered in gray coal dust.

Eventually, he comes to accept it. He's eight now, and a crush from last year doesn't matter, at least that's what he tells himself. Maybe it still hurts a little, but he'll outgrow it.

And he does. By the time he's sixteen, he barely thinks of her. He has a girl now, a pretty gray-eyed girl who he'd give the world for. But standing next to Maysilee in front of his entire district, he can't tear his thoughts away from the little blonde girl with beautiful twin braids that wouldn't chase after him. He can't show that weakness now, though. There was never any real chance for them, but now he has to accept that it's impossible. Haymitch stares straight ahead, pretending not to notice Maysilee Donner.


	2. Chapter 2

She frowns when he pulls on her braids with his dirty Seam hands, but because she's a good girl, Maysilee never cries or screams. Haymitch Abernathy will not get the satisfaction of such a response out of her, thank you very much. Instead, she focuses. Maysilee strives to have the most beautiful handwriting, finish her arithmetic first, and earn the best marks in everything. And she succeeds. Not because it's easy; no, she works long after her sister finishes and wakes up earlier than Marjorie to squeeze in some more studying before class.

Someday, she's sure, Haymitch will learn that he'll never be good enough for her. Haymitch, who Ms. Laderney always scolds for not finishing his assignments and being late to class. Haymitch, whose dark hair and olive skin are always darkened by the coal dust that no amount of scrubbing can ever quite wash off. But he doesn't. He merely changes tactics.

This morning, he presses flowers into her hand before class. She murmurs her thanks but tosses them into the bin before she sits down. Maysilee has no use for him or his flowers.

But slowly, she begins to warm to his kindness. If not for her sister and Eileen's teasing, she would stow his gifts away in her backpack and arrange them in the delicate pink vase that decorates her bedroom. Her friends' words echo in her mind, though, reminding her that Haymitch is poor and dirty and stupid and in no way good enough for her. He is from the Seam, after all. So she bins these blossoms as well.

Eventually, he stops watching her during class, stops giving her flowers. And in some ways, Maysilee is relieved. Eileen and Marjorie now have something else to talk about, and she no longer feels guilty when she gazes at him with a sneer that should not belong to her. But she will always miss the gentleness in his eyes as he handed her the flowers he'd picked, and when she stands next to him on the Reaping stage, it is that which haunts her most.


End file.
